By Bel Hernandez Castillo

Look around and you will see Latinas rising and driving the cultural conversation in the U.S. From JLO’s recent marriage to Ben Affleck to Actress Ana de Armas (No Time to Die, Knives Out) playing Marilyn Monroe, to Adhara Pérez the young Mexican niña who has an IQ higher than Einstein, and at 9 years of age, is pursuing two degrees at the University of Arizona. And what about the future you ask? The fact that actress Zoe Saldaña is the star of the five Avatar films that are set in the future, well you know Latinas will be kicking butt well beyond “a galaxy far far away” for eons. But just who are these outspoken U.S. Latinas who are seemingly unstoppable in their quest to make a difference? MSNBC’s special The Culture Is: Latina has captured the frank and insightful conversation led by actress Justina Machado (One Day at a Time, Jane The Virgin) with some of these Latinas.

The Culture Is series returns with the second installment of the series of four specials. The Culture Is: Latina one-hour special will premiere Sunday, August 7 at 10 p.m. ET and will feature an exclusive one-on-one interview with Machado and Oscar and Emmy-nominated actress and activist Rosie Perez who currently stars in HBO Max’s dark comedy The Flight Attendant. Perez’s first acting role in Hollywood was in director Spike Lee’s feature Do the Right Thing. It changed the course of her life and eventually lead to an Oscar nomination for her work in Fearless.

Additionally, there will be an open roundtable dialogue with eight other high-profile Latinas who during their conversation explore Latinas’ racial diversity, the power of images and how they shape the perception of what it is to be Latina, and their increasingly growing economic and voting power — all experiences that have shaped them personally and professionally.

Machado‘s smart and sassy role as Army veteran Penelope Alvarez on One Day at A Time garnered her the title of “The most dynamic actress on TV” by the magazine Harpers Baazar. Machado will soon be seen in the upcoming Amazon series The Horror of Dolores Roach which is executive produced by Showrunner Gloria Calderon Kellett, who is also part of The Culture is: Latina conversation. The other women include:

• Bricia Lopez, James Beard Award-Winning Restaurateur and Author
• Janel Martinez, Writer and Founder of Ain’t I Latina? 
• Gina Torres, Actress and Producer (9-1-1: Lone Star)
• Gloria Estefan, Grammy-Award Winning Singer, Actress and Philanthropist 
• Gloria Calderón Kellett, Executive Producer and Showrunner 
• Julissa Arce, Author of You Sound Like A White Girl: The Case for Rejecting Assimilation
• Maria Hinojosa,Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist and Anchor of Latino USA 
• Mónica Ramírez, Co-founder and President of The Latinx House

The Culture Is: Latina is the second of a four-part special series highlighting Black, Latina, Asian American Pacific Islander, and Indigenous women.

“The Culture Is amplifies our efforts to elevate diverse voices across MSNBC’s cable and streaming platforms,” said MSNBC president Rashida Jones when the series was first announced in May. “It puts women at the forefront to tell their own stories and share their experiences directly with audiences.”

To watch The Culture Is: Latina tune in Sunday, August 7 at 10 p.m. ET. For more on this follow @MSNBC, and @JustinaMachado  on Twitter. 

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The Garcias the 10-part family comedy series is set to premiere April 14, on HBO Max. The Garcias re-visits the Garcia family which was first introduced in the 2000 Nickelodeon series The Brothers Garcia, a teen sitcom that focused on just the three Garcia brothers.  

Co-creator Jeff Valdez recalls, “When The Brothers Garcia ended its fourth season in 2004, live-action shows at Nickelodeon generally stopped production once you completed 50 or more episodes. That was the business model at the time. We all went off to parts unknown. Nothing similar to the original Brothers Garcia series ever happened again.” 

However, the Garcia family was not forgotten as the series played . Mother Sonia (Ada Maris), her husband Ray (Carlos Lacamara), and their children, Larry (Alvin Alverez), George (Bobby Gonzalez), Carlos (Jeffery Licon) and Lorena (Vaneza Pitynski), stayed very much in the thoughts of Valdez. He explains, “The original series was being pirated on YouTube. People still talked about the show.”

Ten years ago, Valdez started reaching out to Nickelodeon to get the rights back. He recalled, “I got close but nothing really happened.” Then three years ago, Valdez was in New York visiting his friend, Bob Backish, who was running Viacom (owner of Nickelodeon). “I told him, ‘This is crazy. You are not doing anything. The show is just sitting on a shelf. Can we get the rights back,’” Backish agreed. Meanwhile, Valdez’s partner at New Cadance Productions company, Sol Trujillo, had gotten an overall deal with Warner Media and part of the deal was to do a series. 

“I told them, this is the series I want to lead with,” said Valdez. “So, long-story-short, we got the series green-lit. We started pre-production in early 2020.  There were some hold-ups along the way. Finally, I was able to call everybody and tell them, ‘I got the green light. Pack your bags. We’re shooting in Mexico. Let’s go’.” 

Reviving the world of the Garcia family has long been a mission for Valdez. The original series revolved around four children, three boys and a girl a Mexican American family living in San Antonio, Texas. The new series finds the Garcia children grown up and gathering with their parents for a summer vacation in a luxury home by the beach in Mexico.

Production began in Puerto Aventuras, Mexico in June 2020.  The HBO Max original series picks up 15 years later, with the family spending three months in the resort of Rivera Maya. Joining the cast are the grandchildren, played by Oliver Alexander, Nitzia Chama, Paul Rodriguez, Jr., Maeve Garay, Elsha Kim, Ayva Severy and Trinity Jo-Li. 

All the regulars from the original series were ecstatic to be recreating their original roles. “This is so unique because of the kind of roles we are usually cast to play. I just got through two seasons playing a matriarch for a drug cartel, Maris says. “Still, after all these years, that has been the majority of the work available to us.”  Carlos Lacamara chimed in, “This show breaks so many barriers. It is nice to have a real Latino family represented on television.” 

The production cast and crew is 90%-plus Latino and now the original Garcia siblings have families of their own even more diverse families of their own, this is an authentic reflection of the diversity among families worldwide. The series is being produced by New Cadence Productions.

Gonzalez recalled that when he read the pilot script for The Brothers Garcia, he could see a bit of himself in the character.  During the four years the series was in production the cast bonded as a family on screen as in real life. “Coming back to it as an adult, I thought, ‘Oh, I get to be me again’. Adding, “I am really excited for my character to have his family back, as well as having a wife and a daughter and to explore those relationships.”  

The Garcia family finds their time in Mexico filled with adventure with the younger members discovering a bit of about their culture as well trying their hand at different tasks at the resort. George (Gonzalez) tries extra spicy Chapulines (grasshoppers), while sister Lorena re-discovers her love of working in the hair salon. For Valdez, scripting the series was a task he had longed for. He confirms, “As I was writing the first episode of The Garcias, it immediately became obvious I was literally writing for people as I knew them.  Ada, Carlos, Bobby, Jeffrey, Alvin and Vanessa, are those characters.  

“I think that simply having Latinos represented on television is not enough,” says, Gonzalez. “What’s important is the type of representation we are getting. That is something we don’t get enough of. We exist in this country. We are normal, not some sort of outlier thing. We are here.”

The Garcias premieres o April 14 on HBO Max

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Honored with individual awards were Will Smith, Jessica Chastain, Troy Kotsur and Ariana DeBose for performances in motion pictures, and Michael Keaton, Kate Winslet, Lee Jung-jae, Jung Ho-yeon, Jason Sudeikis and Jean Smart for performances in television. The Actor® for a motion picture cast performance this year went to “CODA,” and  the Actors® for television drama and comedy ensemble performances went to “Succession” and Ted Lasso.” The Screen Actors Guild Awards originated awards for motion picture cast and by television drama and comedy ensembles.

Awards for for outstanding action performances were presented during the official live pre-show on Red Carpet Live: 28th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. The stunt ensemble from No Time to Die was honored for motion picture and the stunt ensemble from Squid Game was honored for television.

Kate Winslet and Cate Blanchett presented Helen Mirren with the 57th Life Achievement Award. The SAG Awards continued its traditions of presenting a montage saluting the work of SAG-AFTRA members and a filmed “In Memoriam” tribute honoring the union’s members lost during the past year.

*SAG Awards Eligibility Period: March 1 – December 31, 2021

Here is a full list of the 28th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® Recipients

The Motion Picture Winners are:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

WILL SMITH / Richard Williams – “KING RICHARD”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

JESSICA CHASTAIN / Tammy Faye Bakker – “THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE”

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

TROY KOTSUR / Frank Rossi – “CODA”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

ARIANA DeBOSE / Anita – “WEST SIDE STORY”

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

CODA

EUGENIO DERBEZ / Bernardo Villalobos

DANIEL DURANT / Leo Rossi

EMILIA JONES / Ruby Rossi

TROY KOTSUR / Frank Rossi

MARLEE MATLIN / Jackie Rossi

FERDIA WALSH-PEELO / Miles

The Television Program Winners are:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series

MICHAEL KEATON / Dr. Samuel Finnix – “DOPESICK”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series

KATE WINSLET / Mare Sheehan – “MARE OF EASTTOWN”

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

LEE JUNG-JAE / Seong Gi-hun – “SQUID GAME”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

JUNG HO-YEON / Kang Sae-byeok – “SQUID GAME”

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

JASON SUDEIKIS / Ted Lasso – “TED LASSO” 

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series

JEAN SMART / Deborah Vance – “HACKS”

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

SUCCESSION

HIAM ABBASS / Marcia Roy

NICHOLAS BRAUN / Greg Hirsch

JULIANA CANFIELD / Jess Jordan

BRIAN COX / Logan Roy

KIERAN CULKIN / Roman Roy

DAGMARA DOMINCZYK / Karolina Novotney

PETER FRIEDMAN / Frank Vernon

JIHAE / Berry Schneider

JUSTINE LUPE / Willa

MATTHEW MACFADYEN / Tom Wambsgans

DASHA NEKRASOVA / Comfrey Pellits

SCOTT NICHOLSON / Colin

DAVID RASCHE / Karl Muller

ALAN RUCK / Connor Roy

J. SMITH-CAMERON / Gerri Kellman

SARAH SNOOK / Shiv Roy

FISHER STEVENS / Hugo Baker

JEREMY STRONG / Kendall Roy

ZOË WINTERS / Kerry Castellabate

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

TED LASSO

ANNETTE BADLAND / Mae

KOLA BOKINNI / Isaac McAdoo

PHIL DUNSTER / Jamie Tartt

CRISTO FERNÁNDEZ / Dani Rojas

BRETT GOLDSTEIN / Roy Kent

BRENDAN HUNT / Coach Beard

TOHEEB JIMOH / Sam Obisanya

NICK MOHAMMED / Nathan Shelley

SARAH NILES / Dr. Sharon Fieldstone

JASON SUDEIKIS / Ted Lasso

JEREMY SWIFT / Leslie Higgins

JUNO TEMPLE / Keeley Jones

HANNAH WADDINGHAM / Rebecca Welton

The Stunt Ensemble Winners are:

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture

“NO TIME TO DIE”

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series

“SQUID GAME”

The 57th Annual SAG Life Achievement Award

Helen Mirren

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